Pro-EU forces unite against Yanukovych-aligned candidates in Oct. 26 vote

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced on Oct. 10 that her party will be willing to unite with other pro-EU parties behind a single candidate in single-mandate districts to ensure the defeat of candidates from the defunct pro-Kremlin Party of Regions in the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections. The People’s Front party led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk also said in an Oct. 11 statement it’s ready to unite by removing certain candidates competing in single-mandate districts in order to defeat the pro-Kremlin Regions candidates. The deadline to remove candidates is today, the statement said.

Zenon Zawada: These announcements are a positive signal that the pro-EU forces are capable of setting aside their differences and uniting for national interests, rather than being in a constant state of pecking at each other. Of course, we can’t rule out this being a pretext to dump some failing candidates. True unity will be demonstrated in the parliamentary voting tomorrow, when numerous key legislative items at the president’s initiative will be up for consideration.